This invention relates to systems and methods for warning and guiding blind and otherwise visually impaired pedestrians relative to crosswalks and other obstacles encountered on public and private sidewalks and walkways, and more particularly to a system and method which also specifically identifies which particular type of obstacle of a plurality of different types of obstacles has been encountered, such as, for example, identifying and distinguishing between crosswalks; bus, taxi and mass transit loading areas; building entrances; stairs, steps, elevators and escalators; and other situations of concern to the visually impaired pedestrian.
The import of this invention is to provide a tactile directional guidance system and method which may be established as a universally accepted and regulated standard marking system that meets both the needs and requirements of the visually impaired as well as all various federal, state and municipal codes, regulations and policies governing public and private walkways, etc. In one preferred form, the system of this invention utilizes a single, elongated marker bar or strip member provided in various selected, laterally spaced apart numbers to form one of a number of various different ground-mounted grid patterns each selected and arranged to designate a different, specific type of hazard or obstacle and direct a visually impaired person's movement properly relative thereto.
Numerous tactile warning and directional systems have been proposed heretofore but have been found to be less than satisfactory or unacceptable for a variety of reasons. U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,743 to Schmanski for example teaches a plurality of square tiles having a plurality of bumps or truncated domes provided on their top surface, the tiles arranged for positioning along a curb or other hazardous edge to give warning to a blind or otherwise visually impaired person of the impending curb edges, etc. The reference also teaches in combination with the aforementioned warning tiles, the provision of additional tiles having a plurality of elongated bar-like members for indicating direction of travel to a third, guide track component of the system combination for guided travel through a crosswalk as well. The visually impaired pedestrian therefore is warned of his encountering a curb or crosswalk situation, and is given direction relative thereto. Therefore this reference teaching is only usable in connection with one single type of situation, as for example a crosswalk situation, leaving all other types of situations encountered by visually impaired pedestrians unserved and unidentified. Clearly, the provision of an identical tile combination arrangement at other types of situations could only be confusing and potentially dangerous for the pedestrian who would not be informed by the system of the patent reference as to what particular obstacle he has just encountered. U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,669 to Scekely also primarily discloses a warning system comprising tiles having a plurality of raised bumps to notify a visually impaired pedestrian that he is approaching a curb edge or other drop off edge. However in the disclosure of the patent, suggestion is made in FIGS. 21-23 that tiles may be provided with elongated strips for orientation relative to a crosswalk in order to provide orientation for a visually impaired pedestrian relative to the encountered crosswalk. Again, this reference merely provides warning and in one single embodiment provides orientation for a pedestrian at the single, given situation of a crosswalk.
In this regard, no system has been provided heretofore which permits the individual identification of each of a plurality of various different types of situations being encountered and instead provides only for warning and guidance. However, absent an easily identifiable recognition of what the particular situation being encountered is, a visually impaired person is still left to then determine whether a warning he has just detected is for a crosswalk intersection, or some other hazard or obstacle such as a stairway or a bus stop. It can therefore be seen that if guidance systems don't provide immediate and easy identification of the particular situation or hazard being encountered, there is an increased potential for danger to a pedestrian who mistakes a bus stop for a crosswalk intersection, for example.